A. President (G 55 f)

The
president of the United
States heads
the executive branch at the federal government level. Although
the president has many powers delegated to him from the U.S Constitution,
there are many restrictions that apply to him. For instance, the president
cannot make any laws. The laws are created by the legislative branch orCongress.

Questions:

A1. What branch
does the president belong to and at what level of government?

A2. Which document gave the
president power?

A3. Which branch of the federal
government creates federal laws in the United
States?

A4. What is
the other name for the legislative branch at the federal level?

The president has the power to
put laws into effect. The president has four
options to handle a bill proposed by Congress.
The president can sign the bill within 10
days and it will become law. If the president does not sign the bill in 10 days
before Congress reaches the last 10 days of its session, the bill will
automatically become
law without the president’s signature.

The president can also veto a bill. To veto a bill the president must
send it back to Congress. However, Congress can override a veto by 2/3
of the vote in the House of Representatives and2/3 vote in the U.S. Senate.When Congress votes to override a veto, the bill immediately
becomes law without the president’s signature.

The last option a president has
is the pocket veto. A bill is pocket
vetoed if the president does not sign it within 10 days and Congress is within the last 10 days of its session. If that happens the bill dies. However, after a bill is dies, it
may be proposed againin another
session of Congress.

Questions:

B1 .If the president does not
want a bill proposed by Congress to become a law, what can he do?.

B2 .How many days does the
president have to respond to a bill?

B3. What is a pocket veto

B4. What fraction of the votes
in Congress does it take to override a veto?

B5. What may the president do
if he or she wants a proposed bill to become law?

B6. May a bill be introduced
again in the House of Representatives if it’s dead?

B8. If the president does not
sign or veto a bill before Congress reaches the last 10 days of its
session what

The line-item veto gives the
president power to choose a portion
of the bill and sign it into law. The U.S.
Supreme Court has recently ruled the line-item veto unconstitutional. The U.S Supreme Court stated that the president
has to veto or sign the whole bill.

Questions:

C1. What is a line-item veto?

C2. Which court ruled the
line-item veto unconstitutional?

C3. Does the president have
line-item veto power now?

C4. What is the term for
picking a certain portion of the bill to become law?

D. Impeachment

(G 55-56)

The president can
face impeachment and removal from office if charged with serious
misconduct. There are two presidents in the U.S history, who have been impeached.
They are Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Only the House of
Representatives has the power to impeach and only the U.S. Senate
has the power to hold a trial of impeachment. The president will be removed
from office if he is convicted with a 2/3 vote of the Senate. Once the
president is removed from office, the vice president takes the position
of the president. No president in the U.S.
history has been convicted and removed.

Questions:

D1. If the
president commits a crime what can the House of Representatives do?

D2. If the House impeaches the
president what does the Senate do?

D3. What chamber of Congress is
allowed to hold a trial of impeachment?

D4. Name the two
presidents, who have faced impeachment?

D5. How many votes does the
U.S. Senate need to remove the president from office?

D6. If the president is
removed, who will take his position?

E. Terms of office for a
president

(G 53 end)

The president is
elected for a 4 year term. A president may be elected twice only.
If the president suffers serious injury and cannot serve or if he is
impeached and removed from office, the vice president takes the
place of the president and serves the remaining years. After serving the
remaining years, the vice president can run for election as the incumbent.
After Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected 4 times Congress passed a
Constitutional amendment limiting the president’s tenure in office to two
terms. When FDR died in office in 1945, vice president Harry Truman
took his place and served the remaining years before running for
election.

Questions:

E1. How many years
are there in a presidential term?

E2. How many times can a
president be elected?

E3. Who takes the place of the
president if he is too ill to serve the country?

E4. What is a person running
for re-election called?

E5. What president served more
than two terms in office?

E6. Who took office after
Franklin Roosevelt died?

F. Branches
that check the president

:Congress (G 54, G 55 f)

The president is checked by the
United States Congress and the U.S Supreme Court. The U.S
Congress consists of 100 U.S Senators and 435 members in the
House of Representatives. The Senators serve a six year term and can
run for re-election as many times as they wish. The area that they serve is the
whole state. U.S Representatives serve a term of two years and have no term limit as well. The
area that they serve is called a congressional district (C.D),
which is a specific area within the state. For example California
has the most CD’s each of them served by one Representative.

Questions:

F1.What two
branches check the president?

F2.How many U.S.
Senators are there in the U.S?

F3.How many representatives are
there in the U.S.?

F4.How many years is a
Senator’s term?

F5.How many years is a
Representative’s term?

F6.What area does a Senator
serve?

F7.What area does a
Representative serve?

F8.What is the abbreviation for
congressional district?

F9.Is there a term limit for
U.S. Senate and House of Representatives?

·Confirm
federal justices and judges as well as presidential appointments (G 55 f)

·Ratify treaties (G 55 f)

·Try impeached federal
judges, justices and the president (G 56 top)

Questions:

J1. Can the Senate
try and impeach federal judges?

J2. What chamber of Congress
can ratify treaties?

J3. Who can confirm federal
judges and presidential appointments?

K. Branches
that check the president

: U.S.
Supreme Court

(G 39, G 55 F, G 56, see G Ch.13)

The U.S Supreme Court has the
power to interpret laws
and exercise judicial review (G
56 m). One of the most important cases in American history, Marbury
v. Madison (G 378) established the court power to a judicial review.
Another important Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona,
established the “Miranda” warning that a suspect must be given before he can be
questioned by authorities, which interprets the 5thand 6thamendments
of the U.S. Constitution. In McCulloch vs. Maryland the court
gave more power to the federal government by resolving the constitutionality of
implied powers (G 39 end).The Supreme Court can regulate both the
executive and the legislative branches at the federal level. For instance the
U.S. Supreme Court can declare laws proposed by the legislative branch unconstitutional.

Questions:

K1.What are the
two main powers of the Supreme Court?

K2.Why
was “Marbury v. Madison” important?

K3.What case established the
Miranda warning?

K4.What amendments does
“Miranda vs. Arizona”
interpret?

K5.What amendment mentions the
right to council?

K6.What amendment mentions Due
Process?

K7.What amendment mentions
Double Jeopardy?

K8.What amendment mentions
Eminent Process?

K9.What case established
judicial review?

K10What case resolved the
constitutionality of implied powers?

K11. What branch of the U.S
federal Government can interpret laws and declare laws unconstitutional?

L. Roles of the president

(G 291-304 / chapter 11)

As a head of the executive
branch the president has many roles. The five most important of them are: